Sing If You Can't Dance by Alexia Casale

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Faber and Faber 

Released: July 6th 2023 

An entirely original and much-needed own-voices perspective from a teenager coming to terms with her disability as she's coming of age. Ven had her life all planned out. her dance group were going places and so was she. Then she passes out right in the middle of a life-changing performance. And she's forced to admit that she hasn't been feeling right for a while now. Ven is about to discover she has an illness that threatens to ruin everything. No more dancing. even walking is proving a challenge, and standing. But don't you DARE feel sorry for her! Ven is no victim, and she is in charge here. Sure, her future is going to be different. but that doesn't mean it's over. Because if you can't dance, you can always sing!

What I Have to Say 

Loving the amount of disability rep I'm seeing in fiction at the moment. This was went a bit down the negative side at the start, authentically portraying the doubt and issues shown by someone still coming to turns when they have a disability, but it ended really upbeat. I was really happy that it showed how once you get the right support you can still live your life. 

Support in general was a big message of this book. I loved how every one of the Singers had something going on in their life and how they grew to support one another, even when it had nothing to do with the singing group. It really showed how important friendships can be. 

The author chose not to disclose what disability this is based on and I respect her choice so I won't make any guesses into what it might be, but I have to say I feel this choice was made assuming the potential readers would be abled. If someone was disabled in the same way that Ven is and was looking for a book to help them deal with it, I'm not sure whether they'd find this book. It's a pity really. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Faber and Faber and Netgalley for providing me with this copy to review. 

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (audiobook)

Pages: 646

Publisher: Piatkus 

Released: 2nd of May 2023 

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

What I Have to Say 

Aaaah. This book kept me up on many late nights. A disabled protagonist goes to murder school to learn how to ride and fight on the back of dragons! I loved the representation, I loved the tense scenes and the cliffhangers at the end of some of the chapters. And more than anything, I loved the moments that just make you go "What?!". It was gripping, entertaining and very emotional. 

I have to talk more about the representation in this book. Violet has some kind of chronic condition that she has from childhood. I'm not sure exactly what it's based on, but it effects her strength and muscles and means she's not as strong as the other riders. So she has to work about 4 times as hard as her classmates. It was the perfect balance of the realities of disabilities while still doing a plot that intense. I loved it. 

The audio was good. I really liked the voice actress who played Violet, but she didn't stand out much in my head. She did the job well and read the book, but I probably won't seek out other stuff read by her specifically. 

My only problem with this book is for a school where everyone's meant to be trying to kill one another, Violet wasn't actually attacked that much. It didn't feel as dangerous as we were being told. Other than that though, it was pretty perfect!! 

Definitely one to add to your to read lists!! 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Piatkus for providing me with this copy for review. 

The First Move by Jenny Ireland

Pages: 368 

Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK 

Released: 13th of April 2023 

Juliet believes girls like her - girls with arthritis - don't get their own love stories. She exists at the edges of her friends' social lives, skipping parties to play online chess under a pseudonym with strangers around the world. There, she isn't just 'the girl with crutches'.

Ronan is the new kid: good looking, smart, a bad boy plagued by guilt over what happened to his brother Ciaran. Chesslife is his escape; there, he's not just 'the boy with the brother'.

Juliet thinks Ronan thinks someone like Ronan could never be interested in someone like her - and she wouldn't want him to be anyway because he always acts like he's cooler than everyone else. Whereas, Ronan thinks life is already too complicated for dating and just wants to keep his head down at school.

Little do they know they've already discovered each other online, and have more in common than they think . . .

What I Have to Say 

This book was so easy to sink into and get lost in. The voices of the characters were so strong and they were so relatable. 

I enjoyed the disability rep, it was well done. I do feel like all the disability rep is taking the same vein at the moment. That the character feels like a burden and hates their disability and though this is a really valid way to feel, I'm seriously ready for a character who's accepted themself and is more positive, so that we can see how much more they are than their disability. The books about Neurodiversity went through this phase too and I don't mean that there isn't any place for books about coming to term with disability, but there should be more to the genre. 

I liked the general message of this book. That everyone has something going on in their lives and that asking for help isn't a bad thing. Nothing excuses the ableism that takes place in this book, but it was good to remember that sometimes people have reason for this. 

In all, I really just loved this book especially the online messaging. Great to see some disability rep. 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me with this copy for review. 

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 256 

Publisher: Lion Forge 

Released: 15th October 2019 

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.

Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery. 

What I Have to Say 

My first graphic novel review and it is definitely a must read! A fantastic story of adventure, family and love combined with a gorgeous art style full of colour and magic. It was a perfect combination of the two showing a vibrant world with fully shaped and relatable characters who burst out of the page with every word and image.

There was so much representation in this book and it flowed perfectly into the story. Tam is non-binary which informs so much of their past and relationship with their parents. Nova is deaf, and with hearing aids, which is a fact important to the story and her relationship with Tam, who comments on how Nova has changed hearing aids and that they like the colour. Both Tam and Nova are also Asian-American and their queer relationship is a major part of the story.

One of the things I loved most was seeing how Nova's deafness and magic interacted. How the magic is used to highlight her deafness and her experience of both. My favourite scene was one where the characters linked psychically and Nova talks about the way that she gets a taste from it of how her life could be without deafness. It was done in such a beautiful way, showing the impact being deaf has on her life but without denying how much a part of her identity it is or showing her as some poor trapped, disabled character wanting to be free (a trope that is used so often and is extremely harmful for people with disabilities).

This is such a great book full of magic and excitement whilst also showcasing the intricacies of regular life. Definitely a must read.

My thanks go to Lion Forge and Netgalley for providing me with this free copy for review. 

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Delacorte 

Released: 5th of February 2019 

Twelve-year-old Iris has never let her deafness slow her down. A whiz at fixing electronics, she has always felt at home in the world of wires and vacuum tubes. 

School, on the other hand, isn't so simple. Iris is the only Deaf student in her classes, and she finds herself frustrated by the way people interact with her deafness, whether it's her teacher talking down to her or an overly helpful classmate signing childlike ASL in her face.

During science class, Iris learns about Blue 55, the loneliest whale in the world. Saddened by the animal's inability to speak to other whales, Iris uses her tech skills to come up with a plan to communicate with Blue 55. 

One small problem: the whale is swimming off the coast of Alaska, nearly three thousand miles from Iris's Texas home. But nothing will stop Iris, and with her Deaf grandmother by her side, she sets out on a trip to meet Blue 55 and make sure he's finally heard. 

What I Have to Say 

This book touched me so deeply. Iris' feelings of loneliness from being in a school where only her interpreter understood her, of being in a family where her dad hasn't even bothered to learn how to communicate with her? It was so, so sad. 

Her connection to Blue 55 was beautiful, both metaphorically and in the real sense of the journey she went on to find him. I loved how her interest in him and in whales in general brought her a real friend who put the effort in to learn from her in order to communicate properly and also how it led to her and her grandmother connecting more. The whale, so central to the plot, brought so many people together and it was just so perfect to the story. 

Iris was a lovely character as well. She was so well built and so determined. She felt so very real to me and I felt so much for her. I loved her determination, her tech skill and her sense of self. 

This book was just beautiful from cover to cover. 

My thanks go to Delacorte for providing me with this free cope to review. 

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 496 

Publisher: Bloomsbury 

Released: 29th of January 2019 

Fall in love, break the curse. 

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom. 

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

What I Have to Say 

Until I read this book, I thought that I was fed up of Beauty and the Beast retellings. I mean there are some amazing ones out there, but in the last few years, we've had rather a lot quite close together. But A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a Beauty and the Beast retelling like no other. It was a beautifully unique take on the story while also keeping the heart of the story strong and powerful. 

Obviously I have to comment on Harper's cerebral palsy. This is the first character I've seen in a fantasy story with a disability like this and I felt it was handled beautifully. I'd love to see a review from some with cerebral palsy myself as I can't say anything about the accuracy of the writing, but Kemmerer made sure that it was a part of who she was and while also making sure not to see her only as her cerebral palsy. Harper was beautiful, strong, capable and determined. She wanted to learn how to do everything and refused to let her disability hold her back, except when it came to dancing (because who isn't going to be put off by passed experiences?) It felt so real and I loved her so much. 

The fact that Rhen went through most of the story not as a physical beast was so interesting. I had my doubts about it at first, but it worked so well. Because at the start of the story? Rhen was a bit of a beast personality-wise. It was interesting to see how much the curse had made him close himself off, how the very fact that he was turning into a monster at the end of every season and killing everyone he cared about was shutting him off and making it pretty impossible for him to find the love that would break the curse. Until Harper of course. Watching him and Harper move around each other and slowly open up to each other was also just perfect. 

I think this is the retelling of Beauty and the Beast that has felt the most real to me. Because the love was so real that it hurt. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Girl in the Window by Penny Joelson

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 287

Publisher: Electric Monkey 

Released: 9th of August 2018 

Nothing ever happens on Kasia's street. And Kasia would know, because her illness makes her spend days stuck at home, watching the world from her bedroom window. So when she sees what looks like a kidnapping, she's not sure whether she can believe her own eyes . . . There was a girl in the window opposite - did she see something too? But when Kasia goes to find her she is told the most shocking thing of all. There is no girl. 

What I Have to Say 

A great story, raising awareness of how hard life can be when you have ME and live a mostly housebound (often bedbound) life and also how quiet streets can hold the darkest of secrets, but also the best of friends, The Girl in the Window has so much packed into it for just one short book. Although I found it didn't have as big an impact on me as I Have No Secrets did, I found it a really interesting and well written story of living with ME. 

What I really loved about this book was how kind and caring Kasia was. I've been housebound myself for a while with Agoraphobia, so though I don't know how it feels like to have ME, I do know what it's like to be trapped at home and the boredom and the pain of living within four walls that Kasia feels is so very accurate. But despite how small her world has gotten she still reaches out to her neighbour and offers so much kindness to the lonely old woman who lives next door, completely changing the woman's life with a pureness of heart that is so wonderful to see. And of course that's not the only person Kasia reaches out to, there's the mysterious girl in the window.... 

The mystery of the girl across the street isn't so dramatic as I Have No Secrets. There's no real danger towards Kasia until near the end of the book. Most of the core mystery is just looking out of the window wondering about the girl she catches glimpses of, but this doesn't make it too slow like it would with another book. I think partly because Kasia's life is slow, really slow. The nature of her illness makes it so that it has to be. And so you fall quickly into Kasia's routine. It adds to the feel of the novel rather than detracts from it. 

With this second fantastic book, Penny Joelson is fast becoming a favourite author of mine. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Electric Monkey for providing me with this copy for review.

The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree by Paola Peretti

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 256

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 9th of August 2018 

Mafalda is a nine-year-old girl who knows one thing: some time in the next six months her sight will fail completely. Can Mafalda find a way through a seemingly dark future and still go to school, play football and look after her beloved cat? With the help of her family, and her friends, Mafalda needs to discover the things that will be important to her when her sight has failed. 

What I Have to Say 

This is a beautiful heart-wrenching story about a girl slowly losing her sight. The way that Mafalda thought about things, her bond with the stories she read and her friendship with the people around her made up for a beautiful unique voice of a young girl. 

The story progresses through Mafalda's life as she slowly loses her eyesight, showing her life in the last six months before her world goes dark. It shows her parents trying to cope with it, moving house, getting everything sorted so that they can provide for her. The friendships she has at school, the long standing one with a janitor who tells her stories of amazon warriors, and new ones beginning to form. There are so many threads to this story that weave together through a young girl's perspective to show a snapshot in her life in such a beautiful way. 

Woven through it all this this beautiful character who loves stories and her cat. She's passionate, brave but most of all scared. And it was that fear and how she coped with it, her transition from a sighted world to one without was such an amazing story to read. 

A perfect book for someone who wants something short, beautiful and truly moving. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for providing me with this copy for review. 

Floored by Sara Banard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Bynre, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 320 

Publisher: 12th of July 2018

Released: Macmillan Children's Books

When they got in the lift, they were strangers (though didn't that guy used to be on TV?): Sasha, who is desperately trying to deliver a parcel; Hugo, who knows he's the best-looking guy in the lift and is eyeing up Velvet, who knows what that look means when you hear her name and it doesn't match the way she looks, or the way she talks; Dawson, who was on TV, but isn't as good-looking as he was a few years ago and is desperately hoping no one recognizes him; Kaitlyn, who's losing her sight but won't admit it, and who used to have a poster of Dawson on her bedroom wall, and Joe, who shouldn't be here at all, but who wants to be here the most.

And one more person, who will bring them together again on the same day every year.

What I Have to Say 

This was always going to be the big release of the summer. Six amazing authors coming together to write a story from six viewpoints (seven if you include the omniscient narrator who pops up from time to time) and it didn't disappoint. It was everything I expected from the authors pulled together in a seamlessly created story. 

I loved each of the characters and how different they were from one another, each facing a different set of problems and anxieties and having to get through life. All the characters were beautiful and real but I think my favourites were probably Kaitlyn, Velvet and Hugo (from love to hate to actually quite like! What a journey!). Kaitlyn was so awesome and badass with an interesting journey throughout the novel. Velvet so much the contrast, so shy and insecure, watching her go through her struggles and come out of the other side having grown as a person. And Hugo, the one everyone loves, because he's a very different perspective from the others. The privilege prick who for most of the novel you want to smack, in a good way! 

If I had to criticise it would be that there really wasn't enough time with each character for the amount of time the novel covers. Six whole years of their lives (and very changeable ones at that. It would have been nice to have had a longer novel and to have seen more of their lives. 

I thought long and hard about which author was writing which characters, especially since I know their writing styles pretty well, but it's just so hard to tell! 

My guesses though... 

Hugo - Melinda Salisbury. I don't know why. I just feel like it's her. 

Velvet - I think maybe Holly Bourne or Non Pratt. Maybe Tanya Byrne or Sara Barnard

Joe - I would say maybe Lisa Williamson. Maybe Non Pratt. Really hard to tell with this one. 

Kaitlyn - I really feel Non for this one. Or Holly. Maybe Sara. I could also see her as Tanya. 

Sasha - Sasha could have been anyone. I didn't even get a sense of who she could be from the writing style 

Dawson - Dawson is another one who could have been a bunch of people. I could see Mel but my biggest guess for her is still Hugo. He feels a bit like Holly. Or Non. Or Lisa. Or Sara. 

So I'm gonna go 

Hugo- Mel,

Velvet - Sara 

Joe- Lisa,

Kaitlyn - Non, 

Sasha -Tanya ,

Dawson-  Holly

So any guesses? I can't wait to see who was who. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Macmillan to provide me with this copy for review.

Big Bones by Laura Dockrill

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 8th of March 2018

It's a food diary. I have to tell the truth. That's the point.

Bluebelle, aka BB, aka Big Bones - is a sixteen-year-old girl encouraged to tackle her weight even though she's perfectly happy, thank you, and getting on with her life and in love with food. 

Then a tragedy in the family forces BB to find a new relationship with her body and herself. . .

Tuck in for best mates, belly laughs, boys and the best Bakewell tart.

What I Have to Do

This book was brilliant. It was essentially a young girl exploring her relationship with food. It wasn't about comfort eating or junk food or any of the other things that a lot of people associate with fat girls. It was about a true foodie who wasn't ashamed of enjoying eating. The way she described food was beautiful and perfect and really summed up her character for me more than anything. As a bit of a foodie myself, I loved reading her thoughts on food. 

And while this book is unashamedly pro-food, it also didn't shy away from the fact that being overweight is unhealthy. Although BB took a while to be convinced that her weight was a bad thing, it managed to balance the issues of weight and liking your body without glorifying the problem. There were no fad diets or extremes either way, it truly was just an exploration of how much we eat and exercise and finding a healthy balance. It makes a very good point that our culture makes it seem like exercise is uncool, while secretly most people are doing it behind closed doors. 

This book truly touched me. BB is such a likeable character and it was fun to explore the issues through her eyes. The book devastated me with the downs and made me laugh and smile with it's ups as well as leaving me with just so much to think about. 

My thanks go to Hot Key Books and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review.

The Stars at Oktober Bend by Glenda Millard

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 266

Publisher: Candlewick Press 

Released: 8th of May 2018 

i am the girl manny loves. the girl who writes our story in the book of flying. i am alice.

Alice is fifteen, with hair as red as fire and skin as pale as bone. Something inside Alice is broken: she remembers words, but struggles to speak them. Still, Alice knows that words are for sharing, so she pins them to posters in tucked-away places: railway waiting rooms, fish-and-chips shops, quiet corners. Manny is sixteen, with a scar from shoulder to elbow. Something inside Manny is broken, too: he once was a child soldier, forced to do terrible, violent things. But in a new land with people who care for him, Manny explores the small town on foot. And in his pocket, he carries a poem he scooped up, a poem whose words he knows by heart. The relationship between Alice and Manny will be the beginning of love and healing. And for these two young souls, perhaps, that will be good enough.

What I Have to Say 

It took me a while to get into this. Alice's voice was very interesting and I liked her use of words, but especially in the first few chapters and the poems were hard to understand, but after I got into it, it became much easier. It was definitely a unique voice, with a playful use of words that really showed Alice's character, that despite her struggles with words being a result of her brain injury, she has found a way to own it and make it her unique way of speaking. 

 I felt that the story was a bit lacking through most of the book. The fact that Manny and Alice didn't even meet properly until quite a way through the book meant that the first half was just them wondering about one another and not much really happened. 

I really got into the book by the end though and the finale was very good and quite gripping. I only wish that the rest of the book could have been as satisfying plot wise. 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Candlewick Press for providing me with this copy for review. 

Where the Stars Rise edited by Lucas K. Law and Derwin Mak

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 352

Publisher: Laksa Media Groups

Released: 8th of October 2017 

ALL EMOTIONS ARE UNIVERSAL.

WE LIVE, WE DREAM, WE STRIVE, WE DIE . . .

Follow twenty-three science fiction and fantasy authors on their journeys through Asia and beyond. Stories that explore magic and science. Stories about love, revenge, and choices. Stories that challenge ideas about race, belonging, and politics. Stories about where we come from and where we are going.

Each wrestling between ghostly pasts and uncertain future. Each trying to find a voice in history.

Orphans and drug-smuggling in deep space. Mechanical arms in steampunk Vancouver. Djinns and espionage in futuristic Istanbul. Humanoid robot in steamy Kerala. Monsters in the jungles of Cebu. Historic time travel in Gyeongbok Palace. A rocket launch in post-apocalyptic Tokyo. A drunken ghost in Song Dynasty China. A displaced refugee skating on an ice planet. And much more.

Embrace them as you take on their journeys. And don’t look back . . .

What I Have to Say 

Diversity is really the best word for this book. There was a huge range of characters with backgrounds from all across Asia, showing the wide rage of different cultures that Asia has to offer. There were characters with all kinds of background, from rich to poor and so, so many characters with various scars or disabilities. Though there was a very sad lack of sexual and gender diversity, in all other respects, it showed so many different kinds of people. 

It also showed a huge range of sci-fi, from very hard sci-fi to the softer stuff. I'm not a massive fan of the really hard sci-fi. I love a soft urban story, so there were a few stories that were a bit too much for me, but I have to say most of them I really enjoyed and there wasn't a single story I absolutely hated. 

There is so much I can say about the stories, but I'm choosing one to highlight and that's Back to Myan by Regina Kanyu Wang. This beautiful story of a girl returning to her native planet. A planet that she has no memories of and that has been completely changed. It shows the brutalism of  humanity and I think would resonate with anyone who has had their homeland taken over or destroyed by Western society. 

Anyone who has even the slightest interest in Sci-fi or Asian culture should read this book. I guarantee you will find something to love. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Laksa Media Groups for providing me with this copy for review. 

Tender Earth by Sita Brahmachari

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 432

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Book  

Released: 1st of June 2017 

Laila Levenson has always been the baby of the family, but now with her older siblings, Mira and Krish, leaving home just as she starts secondary school, everything feels like it's changing... can the reappearance of Nana Josie's Protest Book and the spirit it releases in Laila, her friends and her local community, help her find her own voice and discover what she truly believes in?

A powerful chime rings through Laila's mind, guiding her to walk the footsteps of the past on her way to discover her own future.

What I Have to Say 

This book was amazing. I loved the plot, I loved the theme, I loved Laila even if her actions were questionable at times. It was a beautiful story of a girl with a lot of change going on in her life, learning about the world and how to make a difference in it. With such strong story lines about race and protest, it is a brilliant book to put into the hands of teenagers who might need to learn how to stand up for what they believe in. 

Diversity is a massive thing in this book. I don't think there was a single character who wasn't diverse in some way, whether through race, religion or disability. It was just so great to see so many different people represented in the book and coming together through Laila. 

I loved whole protest book and the way Laila was learning and connecting with a grandmother she'd never met through it. It was a lovely story to have at the heart of the book and a great way to bring in the political climate that's going on at the moment. This book didn't shy away from showing the differences between people and how much racism is a part of our country right now. 

I haven't read the other books in this series, so this has really made me want to read them. This was such a fantastic book and everyone should read it. 

My thanks go to Nina Douglas and Macmillan for providing me with this copy for review.

A Change is Gonna Come by Various

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: Stripes Publishing 

Released: 10th of August 2017 

Featuring top Young Adult authors alongside a host of exciting new talent, this anthology of stories and poetry from BAME writers on the theme of change is a long-overdue addition to the YA scene. Contributors include Tanya Byrne, Inua Ellams, Catherine Johnson, Patrice Lawrence, Ayisha Malik, Irfan Master, Musa Okwonga and Nikesh Shukla.

Plus introducing four fresh new voices in YA fiction: Mary Bello, Aisha Bushby, Yasmin Rahman and Phoebe Roy.

What I Have to Say 

This is a book that was needed in the world. As the Goodreads synopsis says, it was long-overdue. I agree with this statement completely. 

I loved the way it was structured with the two poems at the start and the end to frame it. I loved the stories in it, the beautiful story about a blind man saving the world with help of mysterious letters to a future boy, the wonderful one about two Muslim girls facing a bus ride to school after a big terrorist attack and how they both deal with it. There were just so many amazing stories in this book. There are two many to mention and I could say good things about every single one of them, but if I did then I would run out of space in this review. 

The main thing I think to say is that every single author in this book contributed a brilliant story from a different perspective and they came together to make something that the world has needed for a long, long time. 

This is a book that everyone should read. And I hope everyone is as touched by the stories as I was. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Stripes Publishing for providing me with this copy for review. 

I Have No Secrets by Penny Joelson

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 336
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Released: 4th of May 2017


Jemma knows who did the murder. She knows because he told her. And she can't tell anyone.

Fourteen-year-old Jemma has severe cerebral palsy. Unable to communicate or move, she relies on her family and carer for everything. She has a sharp brain and inquisitive nature, and knows all sorts of things about everyone. But when she is confronted with this terrible secret, she is utterly powerless to do anything. Though that might be about to change...

What I Have to Say 

This was such an interesting story! It made me want a Miss Marple style detective story about a detective who's in a wheelchair tends to overhear things from people around her because people just assume she doesn't understand and then she could use it to her advantage. I think it would be cool if this turned into a series with Jemma at the center, but I don't think it would happen. 

It was so interesting to see things from the point of view of a person with no way to communicate at all. It really opened my eyes to the feelings of humiliation that can come from being stuck like that. Jemma was such an amazing character and she had so much going on in her mind and yet people around her couldn't do anything but just guess at her needs. And even the most kind and sensitive person in the world would never be able to get that right for her. 

I love this book most because it really made me think of things from a different viewpoint and I hope to find more books like this. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Electric Monkey for providing me with this copy for review. 

Nowhere Near You by Leah Thomas

What I Have to Say 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's 

Released: 9th of February 2017 

Ollie and Moritz might never meet, but their friendship knows no bounds. Their letters carry on as Ollie embarks on his first road trip away from the woods--no easy feat for a boy allergic to electricity--and Moritz decides which new school would best suit an eyeless boy who prefers to be alone.

Along the way they meet other teens like them, other products of strange science who lead seemingly normal lives in ways Ollie and Moritz never imagined possible: A boy who jokes about his atypical skeleton; an aspiring actress who hides a strange deformity; a track star whose abnormal heart propels her to victory. Suddenly the future feels wide open for two former hermits. But even as Ollie and Moritz dare to enjoy life, they can't escape their past, which threatens to destroy any progress they've made. Can these boys ever find their place in a world that might never understand them?

What I Have to Say 

Adventures with Ollie! Moritz making friends! And a whole lot of sadness. This book like the one before was filled with sadness but also happiness. Ollie and Moritz are both taking strides to live life despite their deformities. It's a good representation of the ups and downs of what life is like to be disabled, but on a much bigger scale. 

I enjoyed meeting different kids with different mutations. It's interesting to see what sort of thing the author could come up with. The web forum was a really interesting way to explore the world they live in through different perspectives. 

There's a lot about relationships in this book, Between Ollie and Moritz but also between the others around them. With such an interesting group of characters there are a range of interesting relationships, even if it's heartbreaking times. 

My thanks go to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Under Rose Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 368

Publisher: Chicken House Books

Released: 7th of July 2016 

Agoraphobia confines Norah to the house she shares with her mother.

For her, the outside is sky glimpsed through glass, or a gauntlet to run between home and car. But a chance encounter on the doorstep changes everything: Luke, her new neighbour. Norah is determined to be the girl she thinks Luke deserves: a ‘normal’ girl, her skies unfiltered by the lens of mental illness. Instead, her love and bravery opens a window to unexpected truths …

TRIGGERS FOR: Anxiety 

What I Have to Say 

This book was a very accurate portrayal of OCD and agoraphobia. It dealt very well with the way that people with OCD get stuck on a certain thought and can't get away from it. Even though a lot of Norah's OCD symptoms were very different, I could relate to it so much. So much that it was really hard for me to read without getting really anxious because my mind was picking up on the fast thought pattern that was shown in the book. 

I found this a little bit with Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne, but not nearly so much, because Norah is so much in the heart of her illness and everything is very intense for her. I wouldn't say this is a bad thing at all, because it shows a really accurate account of exactly how people with anxiety and OCD think, but I would warn those who suffer with anxiety to be careful and step away from the book when they need to. 

I was worried for quite a lot of the book that it would be one of those stories where a boy gets together with a girl suffering from anxiety and his love manages to fix her. Luckily it wasn't. While Luke does have an influence on Norah, her progress during the book is only affected by Luke in the way that he gives her an extra reason to face her disability and push to improve. 

This is definitely a really accurate portrayal of mental illness, that really gets to the heart off the issue and shows how hard and debilitating it can be. 

My thanks go to Chicken House and Nina Douglas for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman by Robin Gregory

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 294

Publisher: Mad Mystical Journey Press 

Released: 1st of November 2015 

After his mother dies in a freak accident, eight year-old, disabled Moojie is sent by his disapproving father to live at St. Isidore's Fainting Goat Dairy, where he befriends a clan of outcasts from an alternate universe. Six years later, this forbidden friendship and subsequent events reveal an extraordinary boy’s tale of loss and connection, first love, and self-discovery.

What I Have to Say 

It took me a little while to warm up to this book, but I really got into it. Moojie is not the type of character I normally like and neither really was a lot of the humour, as it was quite dark humour, but it was written in a really captivating fairy-tale-like voice that drew me in. 

I'm not keen on stories starting with the birth of the main character or the main character being a baby. I feel like usually there's not much story to tell, though in this case, so much of Moojie's disabilities and development is explained throughout his early life, that this was actually a good place to start. 

I don't think this was ever going to be one of my favourite books, but I liked it well enough. It went through a lot of issues about racism, disability and poverty and is worth reading if you get the chance. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Mad Mystical Journey Press for providing me with this e-Arc. 

Paperweight

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Released: 2nd of July 2015

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

 Struggling to deal with her brother's death and a past she refuses to confront, Stevie knows she has problems. But she's still furious about the fact that she's been packed off to a health clinic, in the middle of nowhere, where mobile phones are banned and communication with the outside world is strictly by permission only. The regimented and obtrusive nature of the clinic and its staff is torture to the deeply private, obstinate Stevie - and don't even get her started on the other 'inmates'. All she wants is to be left alone...

 But as Stevie is about to find out, life is full of surprises. And she will prove herself stronger than she knows - even when her past finally catches her up in the most shocking and brutal way possible.

What I Have To Say 

I really enjoyed this book. I've not read much about eating disorders before, especially not as severe. It was really interesting to see how much variety there is between the different girls as well as the organisation and ways they tried to treat it. 

The main characters voice was really strong. The way that her sense of identity was wrapped up in her illness made it really powerful. There was always this struggle between wanting to be seen as anorexic, wanting to die and wanting to just give up and submit to treatment. 

I liked the flashbacks too. It's become a bit of a trope in YA to start a story in the middle and show how the character got there though flashbacks. But I think that when dealing with mental health, it can be a really effective format especially when the character is working through trauma as they spend a lot of time stuck in the past. 

Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

 Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with this e-Copy.

Pages: 344

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books 

Released: 2nd of July 2015

Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.

A story of impossible friendship and hope under strange circumstances, this debut is powerful, dark and humorous in equal measure. These extraordinary voices bring readers into the hearts and minds of two special boys who, like many teens, are just waiting for their moment to shine.

What I Have to Say 

This is such a great idea! I'm so glad it was pulled off as well as it was. Ollie and Moritz were really great characters, both with distinct personalities and views of the world. I love how much the idea of not being defined by their illnesses came up, because I felt that this is something that anyone who is ill either physically or mentally can relate to. 

I loved how they played on the idea of optimism and pessimism, having the boys in opposite moods to each other throughout the book. Both characters were so strong with such interesting backstories both Ollie with Liz and Moritz with his mother as well as the mysterious laboratory. They both had their own personal struggles and barriers to overcome. 

And I'm so glad that they discussed the idea of becoming superheros, because that had to be done, especially with the similarities to Daredevil. 

This is definitely an author I'm going to watch out for more from.